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It is with great sadness that I have to inform you of the sad passing of John Appleby on Friday 7th August.
As some of you know John had been ill for the last few months and bore his illness with great strength and dignity. Our condolences go out to Janine and his family, As yet no further details regarding funeral arrangements are known,
All competitions for next season are only provisional but potential entries need to be made so plans can be formulated to cater fir various scenarios. Seventeen schools have made entries. No fees are required until there is certainty about he games going aheadso if your school wished to make an entry then use the form in the previous article.
Staffordshire SFA have called an end to season 19-20 due to the current pandemic. Teams who have reached the finals of the individual schools competitions will share the trophy and medals will be sent to schools when it is considered safe to do so. This is not a satisfactory conclusion to the season but the only one available and it is a model that has been used by the majority of the County associations nationwide.
What the future holds in the short term nobody knows but the County Association is planning for a resumption of activities for next season. This of course could be delayed and may not even happen but if and when a resumption is allowed then Staffordshire SFA will be ready.
Schools have been sent forms for entry into our individual schools competitions as well as nomination forms for the trials for the County sides next season. These have been duplicated below. It needs to made very clear that only teachers can nominate pupils for county trials, not clubs or parents. If there is a gifted and talented boy or girl who attends a school that is not actively involved in school football then the teacher in charge of PE needs to be approached to fill in the appropriate paperwork. Trials will only be held when it is safe to do so and unlike the past few seasons they will not be held prior to the autumn term.
The County Association hopes that all involved are staying safe and following the guidelines of social distancing to ensure that all involved in our great game remain healthy.
Below is the newsletter sent to schools today
This coming bank holiday weekend would have seen a new chapter written into the long history of Staffordshire Schools Football. For the first time two teams had reached the finals of National competitions in the same season. The Under 18 Boys and the U16 Boys were due to play their finals at the Bet 365 stadium this weekend.
The Under 18 Boys were due to meet Gloucestershire having negotiated their way through ties against Cheshire (5-0),South Yorkshire (4-2) and Lancashire (2-1) to set up their place in the final. The management team of Mark Culverhouse, Greg Valentine and Matt Skinner were looking forward to leading oiut an extremely talented group which included three internationals from this seasons ESFA U18 squad. Having already clinched the MCF title the boys were confident of putting on a good show to try and bring the U18 National title to Staffordshire for the first time.
The Under 16 Boys were due to meet Bedfordshire having beaten Humberside (3-1), West Midlands (3-1) Cardiff and the Vale (4-1) and North Yorkshire (2-1) to earn their final tie. The team remained unbeaten this season and were looking to add a second title for managers Bailey Evans and Oz Rowley this time assisted by ex players Alex Minshull and Jack Bromfield.The majority of the squad have been together for three years and have been superb ambassadors for their schools.
There may be some clarification regarding the future in the next few days but it is looking increasingly likely that these games will remain unplayed. There are far more important issues at this moment in time and when people are losing their lives football is but a trivial distraction. However in the years to come all of the players from all teams that would have played in the finals will look back at what they will regard as a missed opportunity and will always ask 'What might have been'.
The MCF have finished the season as there is no chance of completion of the competitions due to the current situation with coronavirus. The championships have been awarded to the teams that topped the leagues when the suspension of the season happened in March.
Staffordshire boys have performed outstandingly well with the U18, u16,and the U15 boys winning the titles and the U14 Boys finishing as runners up in their competition. All three winners were unbeaten and the U14 boys tasted defeat once to the Chanpions West Midlands who were worthy winners.
The girls struggled to make an impact this season due to the RTC.s refusing to release girls for County matchess. Only a couple of sets of parents stood their ground and insisted that their daughters played County football for which the CSFA were very grateful.There will be a debate in the close season about the viability of continuing with girls representative football due to the facyt that counties who have RTC players available are so much stronger that they are totally dominant and can leave teams who do not have these players available at a distinct disadvantage. Parents committment to county football will be the key.
The winners of the competitions can be found below;
u14 boys - West Midlands
u15 boys - Staffordshire
u16 boys (east) - Lincolnshire
u16 boys (west) - Staffordshire
u18 boys - Staffordshire
u16 girls - Shropshire
u14 girls - West Midlands
The U18 and U16 boys still await news of wether or not they will be playing in the national finala
Can you answere the following ten questions/ Send answers to website.
- Which Burton Albion manager scored the first perfect hat trick in the premiere league?
- What first did Paulo Ferreira achieve ?
- Which first did Eric Cantona achieve ?
- Name 5 players who have scored 100 goals or more and only played for one premiers league club ?
- Name two goalkeepers who have played for Man City and kept more than 100 clean sheets ?
- Name 3 teams who have only spent one season in the premiere league ?
- Name two players who have played for Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea?
- Which is the only football league club that does not have any of the letters in mackerel in its name?
- If it was Naranjito in 1982, and Juanito in 1970, what was it in 1966?
- Which is the only team to have played in the Premier League, the old old Divisions 1, 2, 3 and 4, and Divisions 3 South and 3 North?
More questions to follow.
We at Staffordshire Schools'FA hope that all of or players, parents teachers are staying safe and following the government guidelines. It is very difficult and pretty boring but it is needs must and the more islolated from each other we are then the sooner we can hopefully emerge from these dark days. As a group we have to applaud and assist our NHS who are on the frontline with all of the inherent dangers, whilst we stay away from each other to help them in their quest to beat this virus.
The Chairman of ESFA has released a statement which says that depending on the situation that the ESFA cup competitions will be completed wherever possible. That could mean them taking place in September so with our two teams that have reached the final there is hope that we may be able to play the games. Understandably we may have to ask for special consideration to be given to some players for a variety of different reasons.
The County Schools FA will do the same with regard to our Individual schools competition again depending on the advice given by the government and the ESFA. You can only feel for those clubs who have had their seasons terminated, especially those who were certain of promotion but these are extraordinary times.
Stay safe.
Staffordshire Schools FA activity like all football has closed down because of the virus situation in the Uk. Now is a time for reflection and looking after oneself and family. No decisions have been made regarding what will happen regarding outstanding fixtures but there will be no activity before the end of April at the earliest.
We hope that all of our players parents teachers and their loved ones remain safe and well .
Following advice from the governing body and the government then all schools football under the jurisdiction of SSFA is now suspended until futher notice. This includes county representative teams and all individual schools cup competitions. Hopefully if we see some light at the end of this very dark tunnel then finals may be played in the summer term.
The Staffordshire Schools FA hopes everyone stays safe and well. Information and news will be posted here when it becomes available.
The Under 18 and Under 16 boys have reached the national inter county cup finals which are due to be played on the 8th or 9th of May at the Bet 365 Stadium, the home of Stoke City FC.
Staffordshire Schools wish to make this a very special occassion for the boys and one which will live long in their memories the results not withstanding.We are looking for companies to come forward to sponsor the boys warm up tops , playing kit and match balls. The games will receive lots of publicity and are being streamed live from the ground.
If you are able to help then please make contact through the website as the Association do not receive any funding for running representative sides.It is a great opportunity to be associated with schools football at the highest level.
@staffsschoolsfa will allow all to follow what is going on and will supplement the information available on the website.
Follow the account which is being run by Under 15 team Manager Bailey Evans.